LOREAUVILLE — At 6:09 a.m. Feb. 27, Bo Amy’s theory on stained, or dirty, water started panning out.

Amy flipped his favorite soft plastic on “first cast” at that time for the 6th annual Legends on the Lake tournament at Lake Fausse Pointe. There was a lot more prettier water clarity-wise in the lake but he went with his experience.

The 34-year-old New Iberia outdoorsman was rewarded on that first offering in one of the borrow pits along the West Atchafalaya Basin Protection Levee.

“When I got in there the first fish I caught was a 4-something. I said, ‘That’s the way to start … the first fish a 4-something,’ ” Amy told his partner, Raven Owens, another local angler, who agreed with him.

More 4-pound class fish followed on their way to a dominating first-place finish in the 28-boat field that fished out of Marsh Field Boat Landing. They culled many times to come up with a five-bass limit weighing 21.36 pounds, an epic way to open the local major bass tournament season.

The small crowd under and around the pavilion for the 3 p.m. weigh-in was both stunned and appreciative of the finny brutes stacked in the weigh-in basket like long, wide green logs. Onlookers already had feasted their eyes on a 7.56-pounder brought in by Carencro’s Drake Menard.

“It felt good, man. It was good seeing those fish, too. I finally won one. I’ve been coming in fourth, fifth … finally!” Amy said later.

Amy and Owens won $500 and each received the hosting Atchafalaya Hawg Hunters’ signature tournament plaques shaped like the Sportsman’s Paradise.

They were followed in the Top 3 by Lafayette area bass anglers Ridge Ridgedell and Tory Joubert, runners-up with five bass weighing 16.74 pounts, and Carencro bass anglers Drake Menard and Ashby Landry, whose limit weighed 16.05 pounds and was anchored by the goliath 7.56-pounder. (See related story and photo on Page B7.)

Amy took his Bass Cat scouting the Wednesday before the tournament and went to Twin Ponds and Texaco Field. He liked the dingier water in the former but caught no bass over 1 ½, 2 pounds.

He returned to Twin Ponds for a reason Saturday.

“In my opinion, I find bigger fish in dirtier water. I was fishing a lot of dirty water so I was flipping a lot of dark baits, black neon, stuff like that,” he said.

The bigger bass among the 30-35 fish they caught that day bit on a Texas-rigged black neon Zoom Brush Hog on a 5/0 Owner hook under a 3/8-ounce Tungsten worm weight on 20-pound monofilament line spooled on a Lew’s reel seated on a Veritas MH rod.

The last 4-pound bass they boated around 11 a.m. bit on a Senko he threw on 12-pound line tied to a small weedless hook. He was worried about getting that one in the boat.

“She was running all over the place,” said Amy, a thread inspector for Broussard-based VAM USA Inc.

After that, they went on a rescue mission and devoted 2 to 2 ½ hours helping Owens’ brother overcome outboard motor trouble in another area of the lake. Amy also ran back to the boat landing to meet someone bringing a fuse.

After that, the winners had approximately one hour left before the weigh-in and spent it in the Honey Hole, where they were unable to upgrade their catch. Owen’s scale tabbed it at 19.36 pounds, 2 pounds lighter than the official scale.

“I’m glad his scale was off on the lower side,” Amy said with a chuckle.

Throughout the day, Amy said, his father, Troy Amy, checked in to see how they were doing. He sent him a photo of the first 4, then an update when they got to 15 pounds, and another on the 19 pounds.

Troy Amy made sure he was at the weigh-in.

“Whenever I called him he said, ‘I think I’m more excited than you are!’ ” Bo Amy said.